Abstract

Whole-body vibration (WBV) leads to a rapid
increase in intra-muscular temperature and enhances muscle
power. The power-enhancing eVects by WBV can, at
least in part, be explained by intra-muscular temperature.
However, this does not exclude possible neural eVects of
WBV occurring at the spinal level. The aim of this study
was to examine if muscle twitch and patellar reXex properties
were simultaneously potentiated from an acute bout of
WBV in a static squat position. Six male and six female
athletes performed three interventions for 5 min, static
squat with WBV (WBV+, 26 Hz), static squat without
WBV (WBV¡) and stationary cycling (CYCL, 70 W).
Transcutaneous muscle stimulation consisting of a single
200 s pulse and three patellar tendon taps were administered
prior to and then 90 s, 5, 10 min post-intervention.
Ninety-seconds after WBV+ muscle twitch peak force (PF)
and rate of force development (RFD) were signiWcantly
higher (P < 0.01) compared to WBV¡ and CYCL. However
the patellar tendon reXex was not potentiated. An acute
continuous bout of WBV caused a post-activation potentiation
(PAP) of muscle twitch potentiation (TP) compared to
WBV¡ and CYCL indicating that a greater myogenic
response was evident compared to a neural-mediated eVect
of a reXex potentiation (RP).